Key parliamentary committee rejects French HFC tax

The French parliament’s finance committee today pushed back an amendment to the 2019 Finance Bill that would have introduced an HFC tax and support mechanism for companies using natural refrigerant-based technology.

Dealing a blow to the natural refrigerant community, the French parliament’s finance committee today pushed back an amendment to the 2019 Finance Bill that would have introduced an HFC tax and support mechanism for companies using natural refrigerant-based technology.

MPs from France’s governing LREM party and its coalition partner MoDem had submitted the amendment earlier this month.

“This makes no sense!” said French MP Matthieu Orphelin, from the LREM party, who is a prominent supporter of the tax.

The amendment aims to introduce a progressive tax levied as of 1 January 2021 on producers and importers of HFCs. The tax is set at 15 euros per ton of CO2 equivalent (€/tCO2e) in 2021, €22/tCO2e in 2022, €30t CO2e in 2023 and €45/tCO2e in 2024.

Orphelin pledged to raise the issue of the HFC tax and the support mechanism for HFC alternatives in a future meeting of the parliament.